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Articles for Wildland Firefighters

Federal Union Slams Montana GOP Senate Candidate’s ‘Disdain’ For Wildland Firefighters
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Federal Union Slams Montana GOP Senate Candidate’s ‘Disdain’ For Wildland Firefighters

Huff Post  

Tim Sheehy, the founder of Bridger Aerospace and a U.S. Republican Senate candidate for Montana, is pictured in a hangar in Bozeman, Montana, on Jan. 18, 2024. Louise Johns/Bloomberg via Getty Images A union representing thousands of federal wildland firefighters excoriated Montana GOP Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy after he accused firefighters of dragging their feet to put out infernos and …

Work Pay Senate Firefighters Montana Gop Federal
Montana GOP Senate Suggested Wildland Firefighters Let Fires Burn In Order To Earn Overtime Pay
2 months ago

Montana GOP Senate Suggested Wildland Firefighters Let Fires Burn In Order To Earn Overtime Pay

Huff Post  

Tim Sheehy, an ex-Navy SEAL and pro-Donald Trump conservative, is running against incumbent Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester. Tim Sheehy for Montana Montana GOP Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy, who made his fortune as the founder and CEO of an aerial firefighting company that has relied largely on lucrative federal contracts, has repeatedly accused wildland firefighters of dragging their feet to …

Climate Pay Burns Service Senate Firefighters Montana
Heavy gear, unforgiving terrain, backbreaking work. Now firefighters contend with extreme heat too
5 months, 1 week ago

Heavy gear, unforgiving terrain, backbreaking work. Now firefighters contend with extreme heat too

LA Times  

When a wildfire started in the mountains of Fresno County late last month, much of California was on the cusp of a heat wave that would go on to smash records both for its intensity and duration. “All agencies have had multiple heat-related injuries this year.” The team overseeing the Basin fire in Fresno County constructed air-conditioned yurts to be …

Heat National Work California Firefighters Extreme Duncan
The big burnout: Life on the front lines of America’s wildfires
8 months ago

The big burnout: Life on the front lines of America’s wildfires

Salon  

With record-setting blazes becoming more and more common, the demands placed on wildland firefighters are greater than ever. The previous year, New Mexico experienced its biggest and second-biggest fires simultaneously — the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire in the northern half of the state and the Black Fire down south. In 2022, the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire began when a federal …

Pay Wildfire Service New Mexico Mexico Forest Firefighters
US firefighters raise concerns over looming pay cut
1 year, 5 months ago

US firefighters raise concerns over looming pay cut

Al Jazeera  

With wildfire season under way in the United States, the federal government is facing a potential exodus of wildland firefighters over a major pay cut that could go into effect in a few months. Biden took steps in 2021 to raise the minimum wage for federal wildland firefighters to $15 per hour after criticising the $13 per hour rate some …

Congress Pay Washington State Federal Cut Mayfield
Idaho gears up for wildfire season with bolstered crews
2 years, 6 months ago

Idaho gears up for wildfire season with bolstered crews

Associated Press  

BOISE, Idaho — Cooler and wetter weather this spring has alleviated drought concerns in much of Idaho but spurred grass growth that could cause large rangeland wildfires in the southern part of the state as plants dry out this summer, wildfire forecasters told the Idaho Land Board on Tuesday. Brad Little and four other statewide elected office holders, that the …

State Harvey Idaho Wildland Firefighters Wildfire Season
Biden signs off on hefty pay raise for federal firefighters
2 years, 6 months ago

Biden signs off on hefty pay raise for federal firefighters

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has signed off on giving federal wildland firefighters a hefty raise for the next two fiscal years, a move that affects more than 16,000 firefighters and comes as much of the West braces for a difficult wildfire season. The White House said the move announced Tuesday is intended to set “federal agencies on a path …

Pay Administration West Biden Federal Agencies Raise Federal Firefighters
Hellish fires, low pay, trauma: California’s Forest Service firefighters face a morale crisis
2 years, 6 months ago

Hellish fires, low pay, trauma: California’s Forest Service firefighters face a morale crisis

LA Times  

Members of a hotshot crew hike up the mountain while battling the Caldor fire in South Lake Tahoe on Sept. 3. “And that’s tough, to know that you’re giving everything you have, and communities are still being lost.” Morale within the Forest Service has plummeted to an all-time low, current and former firefighters say. “We’re getting paid $15 an hour …

Health Pay Service Mental California Forest Firefighters
Wildfire smoke may carry ‘mind-bending’ amounts of fungi and bacteria, scientists say
3 years, 10 months ago

Wildfire smoke may carry ‘mind-bending’ amounts of fungi and bacteria, scientists say

LA Times  

Cars drive along the Golden Gate Bridge under an orange, smoke-filled sky in the middle of the day as massive wildfires burned in Northern California on Sept. 12. The diversity of microbes that we’ve found are really mind-bending.” As this recent fire seasons suggests, the need to understand what’s in the wildfire smoke we can’t help but breathe and how …

Air Wildfire Smoke Valley Thompson Scientists Microbes
Wildfire Smoke May Put Firefighters at Greater Risk From COVID-19
54 years, 11 months ago

Wildfire Smoke May Put Firefighters at Greater Risk From COVID-19

Slate  

This piece originally appeared in the Conversation Two forces of nature are colliding in the western United States, and wildland firefighters are caught in the middle. People have long understood that the air they breathe can impact their health, dating back more than 2,000 years to Hippocrates in the treatise “On Airs, Waters, and Places.” Today, there is a growing …

Health Public Health Air Wildfire Risk Smoke Firefighters